


Before the Running

by hawksilverforever



Series: Running [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-06-08 17:12:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6865597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawksilverforever/pseuds/hawksilverforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dylan's life was flipped upside down when she was kidnapped at age 7. She had to live through so much trama, torture, and death that it made her into the person that she is today. What exactly happened those 19 years between loosing her family and finding them?<br/><br/>This is the prequel to Running Away, it explains everything that happened to Dylan. It will be a very dark book and contain the flashback chapter from Running Away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mommy and Daddy

#  Before the Running 

###  Mommy and Daddy 

"Dylan, hurry up. The bus is going to be here any minute," Mom hollered upstairs.  
  
"Momma, do I have to go to school," I whine as I walk down the stairs, "Dad's supposed to get back any minute and I really missed him."  
  
"Dylan, listen to your mother. You are going to school," Dad says as he walks through the front door.  
  
"Daddy!" I yell running into his outstretched arms.  
  
"Clint, your back," Mom says kissing him, "Everything go okay?"  
  
"We'll talk after this little one goes to school," he answers as he carries me towards the bus stop.  
  
"Guess what," I say as we walk down the driveway, "I lost another tooth while you were away, and Momma lets me walk home from the bus stop after school now!"  
  
"Look at you growing up," Dad says as he ruffles my hair, "Soon you'll be going off to work and moving away."  
  
"Daddy, I'm only seven. I won't be going anywhere anytime soon," I say just as the bus pulls up.  
  
"Good morning, Miss Dylan," Susan the bus driver says as the doors open, "Welcome home, Mr. Barton."  
  
I walk onto the bus waving to my Dad as we drive away.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It's 3:30 in the afternoon when the bus drops me off. I hop off of the bus and start walking back towards my house when I hear a pair of footsteps behind me. I pause to listen better and realize that they stopped as well. I whip around and see a man standing a few feet behind me dressed in all black.  
  
"Mister, don't you know it's like 30 degrees out? Are you hot in that," I ask.  
  
"Разве вы не знаете с незнакомцами неисправен," he says. (Don't you know talking to strangers is bad)  
  
I turn and continue walking ignoring what he just said in some weird language. I hear his footsteps start up again, I'm about to start running when another man steps out of the woods in front of me.  
  
"Shouldn't little girls not walk by themselves," he says to me, "Bad people might grab you, bad people like us."  
  
I'm about to turn and start running home through the woods when the man behind me grabs my arm and picks me up, causing me to drop my backpack.  
  
"HELP! MOMMY! DADDY! HELP," I scream at the top of my lungs thrashing in the mans arms trying to break free.  
  
"Заткнись, глупо девочек," the man holding me says as he tightens his grip. (Shut up, stupid girl)  
  
"Никто не может вам помочь. Никто никогда не найдет вас, а не где мы вас," the second man says as he pushes a needle into my neck injecting me with a thick feeling liquid. (No one can help you. No one will ever find you, not where we're taking you)  
  
The last thing I remember is being thrown into the trunk of a car. I fall asleep because of whatever they injected me with, after falling asleep I start dreaming about my Mom and Dad not knowing if I'll ever see them again. 


	2. Welcome to Russia

#  Before the Running 

###  Welcome to Russia 

I wake up in this dark room, I feel my hands tied behind my back over the back of a chair. I try to move from the chair by feel the tightness of rope around my ankles.   
  
"Ah, you're awake," this woman said taking a step towards me, "Welcome to Russia, more importantly the Red Room Academy."   
  
I sit there in silence trying to understand everything that is going on.   
  
"My daddy will come and save me," I blurt out.   
  
"I don't think he will," the woman replied, "He needs to make sure that the person he flipped will stay loyal to their side first."   
  
"What do you mean," I ask, "Daddy didn't say anything about flipping someone."   
  
"Oh, but he did," she continues, "He flipped our best assassin, Black Widow, now we get to repay the favour. You're going to train with us and become as good as her, you'll learn her fighting style, you'll learn all the languages she knew. You will become our best recruit since her. There will be a few alterations in your training than hers, first of all you'll learn to fight and shoot with archery equipment, easier to kill an archer from a far with another archer. Secondly, you'll go through multiple rounds of shock therapy to forget about your family and old life, you'll be taught that Agent Clint Barton is not your father but an enemy of this Academy that needs to be taken care of."   
  
"You can't do that," I sputter out, "I'm seven years old you can put me through that much trauma, and I won't change my thoughts on my father, I'd sooner die then do that."   
  
"Good. It's good to know that you agree with the outcome if you do not comply," the woman says as she walks behind me, "We start with your language, you'll learn Russian first. I'll see you once you know the complete language, that shouldn't take long."   
  
She walks out of the room, two men walk in and move me to a different chair. This one is surrounded by video screens and speakers, they press play and all these sounds and images start blaring and flashing around me. I try to close my eyes after what seems like forever but feel a pair of hands pry my eyes open forcing me to see everything.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
Two days later the equipment shuts off, I feel two sets of hands move me back to the wooden chair I was in earlier. I hear the door open and the same woman as before walks in.   
  
"Good morning, you ready for your next round of training," she says to me in Russian.   
  
"Yes, I'm ready. What's next," I reply to her fluently in Russian.   
  
"I see you are a fast learner," she continues in Russian, "Next you'll learn German, same process. Do you need a break?"   
  
"No, I'm ready," I reply knowing that if I try and put up a fight that I'll just be put through torture until I give in.   
  
The woman walks out and the men move me back to that chair. They start up the machine again, this time I don't try to shut my eyes at all. Another two days past and she checks up on me making sure I know German this time, this process continues until I know Russian, German, Japanese, French, and Spanish; plus English and ASL that I came in knowing.   
  
"We start your combat training tomorrow," the woman says, in Russian, as we walk down the hall, "You are doing quite well, no mention of your parents or home."   
  
"My home is this Academy, my family is not important," I reply in Russian as I hold back tears at the thought of them.   
  
"Good, after training tomorrow, we have a surprise for you," she says, in Russian, as she pushes open a door for me, "This is your private room, we don't want the other students trying to kill you because of your past. They don't have the potential that you have."   
  
I walk into the room and sit on the bed, a pair of hands walk in pushing me into a laying position, he moves my arm so that it can be handcuffed to the bed.   
  
"This is procedure," the woman says before shutting off the light and walking out of the room.   
  
Once I know that I am alone and no one can hear me I start crying. I'm crying not because I miss my family or my home but because of the pain I went through for past ten days with learning the languages the Black Widow knows. Before I fall asleep I make myself a promise, that if I don't flip Widow back to the Red Rooms side that I'll kill her myself. I continue to cry until I slip into a dreamless sleep. 


	3. Surprises and Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is said in Russian unless specified otherwise.

#  Before the Running 

###  Surprises and Lies 

I wake up to the sound of someone unlocking a door, I jolt up in bed only to be tossed back by my hand being tied to the bed.   
  
"I see you have already forgotten about the handcuff," the same woman from the past week says, in German, as she walks in, "Get up, we have training to do before you practice with the other girls."   
  
I walk behind her once my hand is released from the bed. We walk past the training room where there are a lot of other girls sparing and watching. I feel eyes follow me as I walk into a private training room.   
  
"We will start with seeing how much you know of archery," she says, "Your father must have taught you something."   
  
The man that undid my handcuff hand me a bow and a quiver full of arrows. I smile at the familiarity of the cool metal in my hands, I bite the inside of my cheek to hold back the tears I feel from thinking of my family. I notch the first arrow and shoot it at the target at the other end of the room.   
  
"Let's have a look then," the woman says as she walks towards the target, "Slightly off center, but we can work with that. Shoot again."   
  
I do the same motion as before and hit closer to the center this time, "Again, but faster," the woman barks out at me. I keep shooting, gaining speed and accuracy. I stop when I run out of arrows.   
  
"Go gather 5 of them," the woman says.   
  
I walk up and gather five arrows and turn to see 5 girls standing where I just was. I look over at the woman.   
  
"What is the meaning of this," I ask.   
  
"Five arrows for five targets," she answers coldly.   
  
I nod, aiming at the first girl in the line, I shoot her cleanly through the heart and she collapses to the ground. I do the same for the next three girls, when I am at the last girl I notice her age, she's quite a bit younger than me.   
  
"Problem," the woman sneers when she sees me pause.   
  
I refocus and aim at the young girl again. I release the arrow and it hits her in the shoulder above her heart. I hear her screaming on the ground in pain, the next thing I hear is the sound of a gun going off and the screaming stops.   
  
"You failed your assignment," the woman yells as she grabs my hair forcing me to look up at her, "Did you miss because of her age or because you're still soft."   
  
"I missed because my eyes were tired from the past ten days," I reply, "I will not miss again, ever."   
  
"I can live with that," she says as she releases my hair, "Come. Time for your surprise."   
  
I follow her out of the room not looking back at the bodies laying limp on the floor. We walk back into the first room I was in when I got here.   
  
"Sit," a man says motioning me towards a chair in the middle of the room. I walk over to it and sit down.   
  
"We are going to ask some questions," the woman says as I get strapped into the chair, "We're only going to ask you five tonight, you answer them correctly you'll get rewarded. If you answer them incorrectly though, you'll get punished. Understood?"   
  
"Yes," I answer, sitting there waiting for the first question.   
  
"What is your name," she asks.   
  
"Dylan Barton," I answer, getting shocked at a high power very quickly after the words leave my mouth.   
  
"Wrong, it is Dylan Sokolova," she answers, "You are not an American anymore, you will not have an American surname."   
  
"Sorry, my name is Dylan Sokolova," I say.   
  
"Where is your home," she asks.   
  
"Red Room Academy," I answer getting zapped again for longer this time.   
  
"If you get captured, you say you have no home," she answers.   
  
"Sorry, I do not have a home," I say.   
  
"Who are your parents," she asks.   
  
"I don't know who my parents are," I answer, the woman motions at one of the men standing to the side of us. He feeds me a small piece of bread.   
  
"Good answer Dylan," she says as the man walks away, "How did you come to join this Academy?"   
  
"I have no idea what you speak of," I reply, the same man walks over and gives me another piece of bread.   
  
"You are getting better at this," she says, "How did those five girls die?"   
  
"I murdered them because it was my mission," I answer getting zapped again for the longest this time.   
  
"You never say it was a mission," the woman spits, "You say you did it out of free will."   
  
"Sorry, I murdered them out of my own free will," I say looking down at the ground.   
  
"Zap her again," the woman yells at someone.   
  
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," I scream out, "What did I do that deserved that?"   
  
"You need to learn who to lie to," the woamn says kneeling in front of me, "Last night I heard you crying out your parents name before you went to sleep, you lie to me and you get punished for that, understood?"   
  
"I'm allowed to miss my home and my family," I spit in her face, "I'm seven and you're putting me through-through torture, of course I'm going to lie to you and cry. I'm trying to protect myself."   
  
I feel another surge rush through me as she motions for them to zap me again. It stops and she lifts my face so I meet her eyes, "You lie to me and you get punished, understood," she asks waiting for a response.   
  
"Understood," I say, she lets go of my face and walks out of the room.   
  
The man that fed me bread walks over and undoes the straps holding me to the chair. I stand up and feel my legs about to give out from under me, gripping onto the chair I wait until I feel like I can walk again and follow the man out of the room. We get back to the room I slept in the night before, the woman stands in the room and motions for everyone to leave. I walk over to the bed put am stopped when she grabs my arm.   
  
"You talk back to me again I will kill you," she whispers.   
  
I nod and continue towards the bed, I raise my hand and feel the handcuff tighten around my wrist. I lay there motionless waiting for the woman to leave, before she does I feel a sharp punch to the gut, then again, and again, and again until I cough up blood. I manage to hear the slamming of the door over the ringing in my ears and my coughing. _Be obedient, do as you are asked, don't step out of line,_ I think to myself over and over again before I fall asleep. 


	4. Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is said in Russian unless stated otherwise.

#  Before the Running 

###  Training 

I've been here for 5 years and have gotten into a normal routine; I get up, get unhand-cuffed, go to combat training (where I practice until I run out of arrows, then collect the number told and kill that many girls), then go answer questions (increasing by 5 each month). My punishments have gone done a lot since the first week.   
  
"Go collect one arrow," the same woman says.   
  
I walk to the front a grab one arrow, I notch is as I turn around but notice that there isn't anyone standing there.   
  
"What's the target," I ask hesitantly, knowing that talking out of turn results in punishment.   
  
"Me," she replies, "this one won't be as easy as the others, but if you succeed you start training and practicing with the others. If you fail, you join the targets in a cell and wait your death."   
  
I quickly un-notch the arrow and place it in the quiver on my back, I charge towards her. She quickly moves out of the way, I manage to trip her with the bow still in my hands. Once she's on the ground I jump towards her but land next to her as she pushed me to the side. I reach back and grab the arrow I just put back and twirl it so the point is towards her, I manage to swing my legs so that I am pinning her down at the waist. I thrust my hand down and stab the arrow into her heart, I watch as the blood starts to pool around her. Standing I place the bow back where I got it at the beginning of training and walk out of the room towards the room where I get questioned each night.   
  
I walk into the room and make my way towards the chair in the center. I sit and wait to be strapped in.   
  
"Hello, I'm your new handler," a new woman says to me as she walks into the room, "I see you are a fast learner and are ready to work with the other girls. I'm going to ask you some questions tonight, there will be 300 today."   
  
"What is you name," she starts.   
  
"My name is Dylan Sokolova," I answer and get rewarded.   
  
"Where is your home," she continues.   
  
"I do not have a home," I answer and get rewarded.   
  
"Who are your parents," she asks.   
  
"I do not have parents, I killed them to survive," I replied and get rewarded.   
  
"How did that woman die," she asks.   
  
"I killed her because she tried to kill me," I answer receiving a reward.   
  
This continues until we get to the new questions.   
  
"Where is Agent Barton and his family located," she asks.   
  
"I don't know," I reply, getting zapped longer than usual.   
  
"Do not lie to me," she says, "I know you remember where your old home is, so tell me."   
  
"I don't know where it is. I honestly don't think they would have stayed in the same place once I left them," I reply.   
  
"Good," she says, "When faced with it, will you be able to kill Agent Barton?"   
  
I pause for a moment, thinking about him, my dad, when I get zapped.   
  
"That was too long for a reply," she says, "Maybe you aren't what we perceived you to be."   
  
"Sorry, I will though," I reply, "When faced with it, I'll kill Agent Barton."   
  
"Will you also kill his wife and infant son," she asks.   
  
"Yes, I will kill anyone close to him," I reply and get rewarded.   
  
"What will you do when faced with Black Widow," she asks.   
  
"I-I will," I pause, thinking of what I would do, "I'll turn her back to our side."   
  
She motions for me to receive a reward, "Last one," she says, "What if you can't turn her and you get captured?"   
  
"I will kill myself to keep our secrets away from them," I reply, getting zapped.   
  
"You try and escape with their secrets, and proof of Black Widows death," she says, "You do not take your life unless you get caught twice by them."   
  
"Sorry, I forgot," I say.   
  
"Okay, you are done for tonight," she says walking towards the door, "Go to your room and rest up, tomorrow you train with the others and they're ready to meet you."   
  
I nod, and walk out of the room towards the room I've been using for the past 5 years. I lay on the bed and handcuff myself to the bed as the door closes and locks. I lay there chanting to myself my mantra for the past five years over and over until I fall asleep. _Be obedient, do as you are asked, don't step out of line._


	5. Training with Others

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is said in Russian unless stated otherwise.

#  Before the Running 

###  Training with Others 

I walk into the training room and see all the other girls standing on the mat staring at me.  
  
"This is Dylan," my handler says once I stand beside her, "She is training to bring back Black Widow. If anyone actually tries to kill her, well I wish you good luck."  
  
I walk onto the mat and watch as the other girls move into a circle around me and another girl twice my size.  
  
"I've already gone through the final procedure," she say as she sizes me up, "I should be the one to bring Natalia back not you."  
  
"I know things about the agent that flipped her that you can't read from files," I reply walking closer to her, "I can not only bring her back but make sure that she never trust that side again."  
  
"We'll see about that," she says.  
  
She charges at me at full force, I side step out of the way causing her to stumble into the circle around us. I turn to face her as she grabs a bo staff, I quickly assess the equipment behind her and see a quiver full with arrows with a matching bow. I wait letting her charge at me again, she swings the staff at me which I grab and use to flip myself towards the bow. I throw the quiver on my back and grab the bow, I turn facing her with an arrow already notched.  
  
"I told you, I'm the only one that knows things about the Agent that flipped her," I say with the arrow still aim for her chest, "I'm the one that will bring her back." With that I release the arrow and watch as her body falls limp to the ground.  
  
"She killed her," a few girls around me yelled at my handler, "She was top of the class, she was just about to go on a solo miss-"  
  
My handler holds up her hand causing the room to grow silent quickly, "Ladies, what are the rules for questioning a training session end?"  
  
No one spoke up at the question, I look around and see a few of the girls holding in silent tears.  
  
"Answer me when I ask a question," my handler yells, still no response.  
  
"Anyone who questions the outcome, will receive the same fate," I reply, flatly.  
  
"Good, at least someone knows how to respect authority," she says, "You five that questioned this stay here with Dylan. The rest, move to the other training room and practice," the girls do as they are told, I stand in the same stop as before.  
  
"Make these ones suffer," my handler says to me in Japanese. The girls look up with confused looks as she walks out the door.  
  
"What did she just tell you," one of them asks as I notch an arrow.  
  
"None of us know that language," another says looking around frantically.  
  
I quickly shoot all five of them in the knee with an arrow. I feel a smile start to grow on my face as I hear their screams, I pause for a moment to access why I find joy in this but am interrupted when I hear the crashing of blades on the floor. I whip around and shoot the girl moving towards the fighting equipment in the chest and watch her collapse to the ground. I turn and face the others, seeing the pain and fear I caused in their eyes.  
  
"I'm going to get punished for her," I say taking a step towards them, "I'm not supposed to shoot twice when it comes to killing, she made me waste another arrow and now I'll have to pay for that."  
  
I walk over to a chair in the corner of the room, I watch the four girls one the ground in pain as they slowly bleed out. My handler walks back into the room to take in the scene unfolding.  
  
"They've suffered enough," she say, in Japanese, "Kill them all now, we will talk about that one later."  
  
I nod and shoot the four girls quickly and watch as they fall limply to the ground. I'm about to put the bow and arrows back on the equipment table but am stopped by a hand on my shoulder.  
  
"They are yours," she says, "You will need them everyday from now on. Keep them in your room."  
  
I walk out behind her and head towards the other training room. I feel the cool sensation of tears trickling down my face, I quickly wipe them away as we walk through the doors.  
  
"Ladies," my handler says when we walk in, "Does anyone else believe that she should not be the one to bring home our Black Widow?"  
  
No one said anything in response to that, "Good. Keep training," my handler says turning and walking out of the room motioning for me to follow which I do.  
  
"You shot one of the girls twice, why was that," she asks me once in the hallway walking towards my room.  
  
"She got to the knives and I wasn't going to be able to get to her fast enough to hurt her," I reply.  
  
"I see," she says as we stand outside my door, "I noticed you just watched the other four after that. Why didn't you kill them then too?"  
  
"I was told to make them suffer," I said not breaking eye contact, "I failed with one but did not wish to so with the others."  
  
"Good, you had a long day," she says pushing open my door, "I will make sure they deliver you a proper meal as there will be no questions tonight."  
  
I nod and walk into my room, I sit on the chair by the table and wait for my food. They walk in and place the tray down walking out leaving me with my food and the silence. I quickly eat the meal before me, as it is one of the first full meals I've had since being here. I finish my food and place the tray next to the door as I've been told to do many times. I walk over to my bed and sit there rethinking everything that happened in the day. I remember the blood curdling screams of the four girls vividly and I also remember the smile I had when listening to them. I think back to the tears I let escape from me today and try to figure out why I did that, I remember the fear I felt when my handler said we'd talk about the one I shot twice later and realized I cried because I was scared of the pain I was sure I would go through for disobeying her. I lay down on the bed and handcuff myself to it, I lay there and quickly fall asleep to a dreamless sleep. 


	6. Family or Foe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is said in English unless stated otherwise.

#  Before the Running 

###  Family or Foe 

It's been a year since I started training with the other girls. Since then there have been no more deaths at my hand. I walk into the training room as per usual this morning and see everyone standing as still as ever.  
  
"Ladies," my handler says in Russian, "We have word that SHIELD is going to be attacking here today. We want you to fight with honour."  
  
I walk towards my handler with a concerned look on my face.  
  
"Agent Barton and Black Widow are leading the raid," she whisper, in Russian, to me as I get within earshot, "Kill him and turn her back to our side."  
  
I nod and walk towards my designated room. I sit on the floor and start working myself up so that I'm going to be in tears by the time someone opens the door. I hear the sound of gun shots and explosions throughout the academy, I think about leaning my post but know that is the wrong move. I hear two sets of footsteps walk towards the door.  
  
"This is the last room to check," I hear a woman say.  
  
Just then the door flies open and two people walk in, I start crying as if on cue as I see a gun pointed at me.  
  
"Nat, lower the gun," I hear him say to the woman.  
  
He turns to face me, "Do you speak English?"  
  
I look up at him and notice that his face has grown tired and full of pain since the last time I saw him. I stand up, sizing up the woman with him as well as himself, I'm about a couple inches taller than both of them. I turn towards the woman that I know must be Black Widow.  
  
"Black Widow," I say to her, it comes out sounding more like a question.  
  
"Yes, and you are," she asks noticing the quiver of arrows on my back.  
  
I stare between both of them for a while until he speaks up.  
  
"What's your name," he asks cautiously.  
  
I stand there still trying to fully understand what's in front of me when I realize how long it's taking me to answer. I tense up and let out a pained sound, I pause gauging their reaction and race out of the room grabbing my bow which was leaning up against the wall by the door.  
  
"We have a young female woman, armed with a bow and arrow racing down the corridor that we were just in," I hear him yelling behind me, "Stop her, nonlethal, we need her to talk."  
  
I turn a corner sharply and get into position, I notch an arrow and am about to step out around the corner when I am grabbed and thrown into the wall behind me. I look up and meet the eyes of my handler.  
  
"You could have killed him in that room," she spits at me in Russian, "Now he's running through here looking for you. I knew we shouldn't have trusted you in killing your own father."  
  
Before I can say anything else I feel a sharp piercing pain in my side. I look down and see a small knife lodged into my side, my handler grabs the bow from my hands and pushes me into a pair of arms. They carry me into the alley way and throw me to the ground causing the blade to lodge itself deeper into my side. I hear the static of radios and muffled voices of what I can only understand is SHIELD.  
  
"What do you mean killed your own father," I hear muffled through the door, "You're the ones who took my baby girl? Where is she now?"  
  
I hear the faint response of my handler through a very weak voice, "Dead, she didn't deserve to live after failing her mission."  
  
I feel the faintness of tears running down my face in the rain. I am unable to decipher if I'm crying because of the knife in my side or the pain I heard in his voice realizing how close he was to me. I lay there trying to figure out the best way for me to get out of here when I hear a pair of footsteps walking down the alleyway muffled by the rain. I reach behind me and grab one of the arrows from the quiver attached to my back with a lot of pain, I hold it in a position ready to hurt the person walking towards me if necessary.  
  
"Whoa, whoa," he says when he notices the arrow in my hand, "Why don't you put that away. I'm not one of them, I saw them throw you out here and thought I could help."  
  
I drop the arrow wincing at the pain I caused by moving.  
  
"What have we got here," he asks noticing the blade lodged into my side, "I can help you, I am a doctor. I just nursed my wife back to life, come live with us and we will help you into a better life."  
  
I look from him to the door, the door in which my father is on the other side, and back again. This time when I meet his gaze I notice the pain and kindness in his eyes.  
  
"Please," I whisper very faintly, "Please help me."  
  
"I will my sweet flower," he whispers as he carefully helps me up, "I will."  
  
"What's your name," I whisper through the pain.  
  
"Calvin, Calvin Zabo," he answers.  
  
That is the last thing I remember from the alleyway and that night. 


	7. Welcome to Afterlife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is said in English unless stated otherwise.

#  Before the Running 

###  Welcome to Afterlife 

I wake up on a soft surface, hearing the beeping of different machines. I slowly open my eyes and look around the room and notice how bright it is. _This isn't the Academy anymore_ , I think to myself as the door opens.  
  
"Ah, I see you're awake," a familiar looking man says walking over to the machine on my left.  
  
I start to sit up feeling a sharp shooting pain in my side.  
  
"Oh, dear, please be careful," he says helping me up, "Your stitches don't come out until tomorrow."  
  
"S-stitches," I ask in a raspy voice.  
  
"Yes," this woman says from the doorway, "You were hurt when Calvin brought you here."  
  
I look around between their faces trying to understand what's happening. All of a sudden flashes from that night come flooding back and I remember everything.  
  
"What happened to everyone there," I ask.  
  
"SHIELD got out safely with few hostages," the woman says as she takes a seat next to me, "The woman that attacked you never came out, so we can only assume someone from SHIELD killed her."  
  
"There was a man from SHIELD, he had a bow and arrow," I says in almost a whisper, "Did he make it out okay?"  
  
"Yes, he even ran into the alleyway after you left," she replies.  
  
"Okay," I say nodding, "Where am I?"  
  
"Oh, you're in Afterlife," the woman says, "It's a settlement for inhumans, and possible inhumans."  
  
"Inhumans," I ask.  
  
"People that haven't reached their full potential in their human life," she starts, "the ones that go through Terrigenesis gain different abilities that help better their life."  
  
"Why am I here then," I ask.  
  
"We've been keeping an eye on you since you showed up in Russia," she says, "You show great prospects for becoming a better version of yourself."  
  
I sit there not saying anything trying to assess everything.  
  
"I'm Jiaying," she said after awhile, "I help show these people the way."  
  
"Here, let's help her out of bed," Calvin said unhooking different machines from me, "She'll want to rest in her room, and her roommate is excited to meet her."  
  
I slowly swing my legs to the floor and stand up, I look down at myself and notice that I'm just in shorts and a sports bra. I'm able to see the stitches that are where the knife was earlier. I follow them down the hallway into a larger room with two beds, I notice a girl sitting on one of them. She appears to be a couple of years older than me, she turns around when we're barely in the doorway.  
  
"You must be my new roommate," she says bouncing over to me quickly, "I'm really excited to be your transitioner."  
  
"Transitioner," I ask looking back at Jiaying.  
  
"She's going to be with you before, during and after your Terrigenesis," Jiaying says, "I'll be with you for some of it but it's better if you have someone with you at all time."  
  
"I'm Emilia," my roommate says, "And you are?"  
  
I stand there thinking about what to say my name is when I tense up and let out a small sounding whine.  
  
"What did the Academy do to you," Jiaying asks kneeling down to meet my eyes.  
  
"My name is Dylan Sokolova," I say in Russian.  
  
"We don't speak Russian, sweetheart," Jiaying says lightly rubbing my back.  
  
"Dylan Sokol-" I start, pausing when the tears start rushing down my face, "That's not my real name, I can't remember it without pain. I'm so sorry."  
  
"Emilia will help you through the torture they put you through," Jiaying says, "Once you can remember your name and other things without pain you'll be ready for your transformation."  
  
I nod as I'm being lead towards the second bed in the room. I sit down while still crying, I feel two pairs of arms wrap around me.  
  
"Don't worry," Calvin says pulling me closer to his chest.  
  
"No one will hurt you while you're here," Jiaying says before kissing the top of my head, "We'll let you get to know Emilia, then tomorrow we'll start teaching you how to prepare for your Terrigenesis."  
  
I nod as I watch them walk out of the room, I turn to face Emilia and give her a small smile.  
  
"So, Dylan," she says sitting down on the bed next to me, "You know Russian, that's really cool. What other languages do you know?"  
  
"I know Russian, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, English and ASL," I reply.  
  
"ASL? What's that," she asks.  
  
"American Sign Language, when I was four my dad," I tense at that memory but push through it, "My dad came home from work and lost his hearing due to an explosion. For the longest time I thought he was working at a mine or something but in reality he works for SHIELD. I found that out when I was brought to Russia, they hated my dad because he flipped some assassin."  
  
"What your dad is a SHIELD agent," she asks standing up from my bed, "Does he know where you are? Are they coming for us?"  
  
"No, no he doesn't know where I am," I reply, "My handler from the Academy," I tense in pain talking about the Red Room, "told him I was dead, he didn't even know I was there until it was too late. He's not going to come for me, he's moved on and started a family."  
  
"What do you mean moved on," she asks sitting next to me, "You're his daughter."  
  
"He has a son," I reply, "he never came looking for me, there was never anything on the news about a missing girl when I went missing. He didn't try to look for me when I was 7, so why would he come look for me now at 13?"  
  
"I'd come looking for you if you went missing," Emilia said pulling me into a hug.  
  
I smile into her neck as I start to cry.  
  
"Shhh, there is no need to cry," she says, "I got you."  
  
"I haven't felt this much kindness in a long time," I say meeting her gaze.  
  
We sit there in silence for awhile as I cry, Emilia rocks me rubbing circles into my back waiting for me to calm down.  
  
"Did you go through Terrigenesis," I ask breaking the silence.  
  
"Yes, I did," she replies, "I'm able to hear things that no one else can, like I'm great at night-watch because I hear people before anyone can see them. They could be 20 miles away and I'll hear them."  
  
"Do you think I'll be able to control whatever I get," I ask.  
  
"At first it might be hard," she replies, "but that's what I'm here for. Let's go to supper, we have to get there fast Gordon will take all the good stuff."  
  
I nod, wiping away my tears. Emilia reaches her hand out for mine, I hesitantly give her mine but she leads me towards the dining room smiling and telling me all about the people I'm going to meet. I smile to myself feeling like I finally found people that will actually care for me and treat me like a member of their family. I've found myself a new home, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon. 


	8. New Way of Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is said in English unless stated otherwise.

#  Before the Running 

###  New Way of Training 

I wake up and lay in bed waiting for Emilia to wake up. I hear her start moving and lay there with my hand above my head. Normally I would be out of bed by now but am unable to get up just yet.  
  
"Dylan, you okay," she says when she notices I'm not moving.  
  
"Yeah, I'm just waiting," I look up to left hand, "Oh, um, never mind."  
  
I sit up and follow Emilia out of our room. We walk towards Jiaying's room, she knocks and we wait for her to answer.  
  
"Um, Dylan, do you mind if I ask you a question," Emilia asks as we stand there.  
  
"Go right ahead," I say meeting her gaze.  
  
"Why were you laying in bed waiting this morning," Emilia asks.  
  
"When I was in the Red Room Academy," I pause expecting pain but it never comes, "I would be handcuffed to the bed throughout the night and have to wait until my handler or someone would un-handcuff me in the morning."  
  
"Oh, that's terrible," Emilia says placing her hand on my shoulder.  
  
Before I can say anything Jiaying opened the door and motioned for us to follow her in. We walk into this room and sit down around this desk.  
  
"How was your first week here," Jiaying asks once we're all seated.  
  
"Good. It was different sleeping here than in the Academy and it's so much more welcoming here," I reply.  
  
"I see thinking of the Academy is resulting in less pain," Jiaying said.  
  
"Dylan is doing really well," Emilia said, reaching out taking my hand as we're sitting there.  
  
"Do you think you are ready to talk about your past and your family," Jiaying asks.  
  
"I think so," I say shifting in my seat, "My name is Dylan Barton," I say waiting for pain, "My dad works for SHIELD I know this now," I tense up in pain unable to continue.  
  
"Shh, Dylan, it's okay," Emilia says rubbing the back of my hand, "You did really well."  
  
I wait until the pain subside before meeting either of their gazes. I look up and end up looking right into Emilia's eyes. She pushes my hair out of my eyes and helps me sit back in the chair.  
  
"Sorry, I'm trying," I say after awhile.  
  
"It's okay angel," Emilia says rubbing my back.  
  
"You're making great progress, Dylan," Jiaying says as she stands up and walks over to my side.  
  
She wraps her arm around my shoulder, "In a couple of months you'll be ready for Terrigenesis."  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
It's been three months since I last felt pain thinking about my past. I follow Emilia to this different building than normal.  
  
"So, today's the day then," I ask as we continue to walk.  
  
"Yes, in a couple of hours you'll be practicing your ability and getting it under some control," Emilia says stopping at the foot of the stairs leading up to this secluded building, "I won't be able to see you until Jiaying says that you're safe for others to be around."  
  
"Are you going to be in the room with me before hand," I ask nervously wringing my hands.  
  
"I'll be by your side until your shell starts to crack," she says wrapping her arm around my shoulder and kissing the top of my head.  
  
We walk up the stairs in silence, mostly it's me trying to calm my nerves about all of this. We walk into the building and follow Gordon down the hallway to a room, he pushes open the door and the two of us walk in.  
  
"Jiaying will be here shortly," Gordon says, "Make yourself comfortable."  
  
"You ready," Emilia asks after he leaves.  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be," I answer, "Does it hurt?"  
  
"A little at the start and the end," Emilia says, "Didn't Jiaying tell you everything about the process?"  
  
"Yes, but she said that she never went through the one we went through," I reply, "So she doesn't know if this one hurts."  
  
Emilia walks over to me and pulls me into a hug, "Don't worry, my angel, you'll be okay."  
  
"Dylan, are you ready for Terrigenesis," Jiaying asks.  
  
"I'm ready," I say walking over to her, I sneak a glance back at Emilia.  
  
Jiaying stands in front of me hold a blue crystal. Emilia comes and stands next to me and gives a nod of encouragement to me. I look up at Jiaying trying to give her a smile that masks my fear.  
  
"I'll be here when you wake up," Jiaying says.  
  
"Okay, I'm ready," I say looking up at her again this time more confident.  
  
She throws the crystal on the ground and it shatters releasing a could of blue smoke. I feel the tight grip start on my ankles and work it way up my legs quickly. I look over to Emilia and we smile at each other.  
  
"Dylan, I can't wait to see what the future holds fo-" She's cut off by the grip engulfing my head.  
  
I stand there engulfed in this tight gripping sensation while my insides are burning, however also cool at the same time. I'm trying to keep my heart rate at a calm beat but am unable too. Start panicking and try to get out of this tightening gripping when I hear a cracking sound, I try and move again this time I feel the cracking around me. I scream and thrash around until I feel the tightening grip let go. I look around the room and see a rocky shell around me on the ground, I look up and see Jiaying standing in front of me.  
  
"Did my appearance change," I ask, remembering Emilia telling me that that can happen with some of the changes.  
  
"My dear, you just look older. You look far beyond your years," Jiaying says.  
  
"C-can I see," I ask still on my knees bracing myself with my hands.  
  
She walks over with a mirror and shows me my reflection. I slowly stand up and notice that I'm taller in this reflection than the one I looked at earlier in the day.  
  
"Is that all that happened in my change," I ask, "Did I just get older visibly and taller physically?"  
  
"Well, I don't know. How do you feel," she asks as we move to some chairs in the center of the room.  
  
I sit there thinking that I want to tell her that I feel fine but end up telling her, "My insides are both on fire and cooling at the same time. My head is pounding when I think of telling you a small white lie and this isn't what I wanted to tell you."  
  
"Okay," she says, "I need you to try something for me okay?"  
  
I nod, not trusting my voice.  
  
"Light that candle," she says motioning to a candle on the other side of the room.  
  
"Can I walk over to it or do I have to do it from here," I blurt out, "I'm sorry, that was harsher than I meant it to come out."  
  
I stand and walk over to the candle, I look around for matches and can't find any. I look up at Jiaying and she's just sitting there staring at me.  
  
"How am I suppose to light a candle without matches," I mutter under my breath, "It's not like I can just produce the fire," just like that my right hand is engulfed in fire, "Ahhhh, what the hell is going on my hand is on fire!!!!!"  
  
I start freaking out trying to get the fire to stop and accidentally hit my upper thigh and scream out in pain at burning myself. The fire in my hand stops when I start to focus on the pain I'm feeling, I drop both my hands to the burn mark screaming in pain. Jiaying is by my side trying to calm me while she is yelling for someone to the doctor here. I sit there and slowly feel the pain subsiding, I cautiously lift my hands and notice that the burn mark is completely gone.  
  
"What the hell is going on," I scream out, "What the hell did you do to me? I want to go back to being me, I want to be a normal person without all this crap going on."  
  
"Calvin," Jiaying says ignoring me, "She healed herself."  
  
"I thought you said that she burned herself," he asks kneeling next to me.  
  
"She did and then she healed herself," Jiaying answers.  
  
"I WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH," I scream as blue smoke twirls around the three of us, "WHAT IS GOING ON? WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?"  
  
"You went through Terrigenesis, you have the ability to control fire and heal yourself," Calvin says, "And also produce a blue smoke."  
  
"You are now an inhuman and you're just panicking because this is new and you don't have control over it yet," Jiaying says, "If you keep freaking out like this you'll never have control over it and we'll have to take your life to save the others."  
  
"Jiaying, my sweat, that is something you never say to them," Calvin blurts out, the blue smoke still twirling around us.  
  
"Well it's the truth and I do not wish to lie to the poor girl," Jiaying says with a worried look on her face.  
  
I feel my heart beat slowing down, I look around and see that the blue smoke is coming out of my hands. I focus on it and it disappears, I smile to myself.  
  
"I want to see Emilia," I say looking up at them.  
  
"We will send for her," Jiaying says standing, Calvin follows her. They whisper about something and then disappear out the door.  
  
I stand and walk over to the candle again, I focus on my hand and see the fire appear again. I light the candle and quickly get the fire away, I try the fire with my other hand and get the same result as before. I walk around the room thinking to myself, _I can control fire, I can heal myself, I can make this blue smoke appear, and I'm not able to lie or even think of lying without pain._ I hear the door open and turn to face it expecting Emilia but it's Jiaying again.  
  
"Is Emilia on her way," I ask as she motions for us to sit again.  
  
"No, you are not ready to see anyone yet," Jiaying replies, "However we figured out what your blue smoke does."  
  
"You told me I could see Emilia," I say glazing over the information I could learn about myself, "I need her, I really like when she's around I feel so calm in her presence."  
  
"You'll see her once we test your healing ability," Jiaying says, "It is different than another inhuman with healing powers, but your blue smoke is something completely new to us."  
  
"What does it do," I ask.  
  
"It makes the people around you tell the truth," Jiaying says, "The things I said to you are the truth but something that I lie about to the others when they first come out of Terrigenesis, but you made me say the truth. That is a great power, Calvin is going to do an examination on the fire and see how much of your body can be consumed by it. Ah here he is now."  
  
"Hello, so Jia already told you about your blue smoke," Calvin says walking over to me, "I'm here to check a couple of things. The first being your fire, I want to see how much of yourself can produce the fire. Please stand over there and focus on controlling the fire first in your hands and then try moving it to other parts of your body."  
  
I stand up and walk over to the area that he pointed to. I take a deep breath and feel my hands warm, I look down and see fire on both of my hands. I think about moving it and watch as it doesn't move, I close my eyes and focus on moving the fire to my legs and feel something shoot off of my hand. I look down and see a small fire starting by my feet.  
  
"I don't think I can move it to anywhere else on my body," I say, stopping the fire on my hands, "I tried to move it to my feet and started that."  
  
"Okay, so it's only in your hands," Calvin says, "Good to know, and you can also throw it. That is also good to know."  
  
Jiaying motions for Gordon to come and stand beside the two of us. I look over at him confused as to why he's here.  
  
"Okay, so Gordon was nice enough to agree to this," Calvin says, "We're going to test your healing ability, the other inhuman we have that has healing ability can only heal their own body but don't use their hands. When you healed yourself you used your hand to do so, we just want to see if you can do the same thing for others."  
  
"So you want me to try and heal someone," I ask, he nods.  
  
Gordon holds out his arm and Calvin cuts it with a knife causing Gordon to grimace in pain. I walk over and place my hands on his cut and thinking that I need to stop the pain and that it'll get better. I look up and notice that his face is softening, I lift my hands and see that the cut is completely gone just like my burn.  
  
"This is amazing," Jiaying says, "You are one of the first inhumans with three abilities."  
  
"I kind of find them fitting," I say looking up and meeting their confused looks, "Well if you think about it, it's Truth Torture and Help. I've always had to lie and because of that I've always wanted to be able to tell the truth about something and now I can't lie. I've been through so much torture because of the Academy it's only fair now that I can inflict it, and I had to kill a bunch of people in the Academy that I wish I could have helped them and gotten them better and now I can do just that. Truth, Torture and Help. Those are my abilities because of my past life."  
  
"Well, I see you have them under control for the most part," Jiaying says, "Let's take you back to your room. Emilia will be excited to see you." 


End file.
